Scottsbluff

Our adventure to scottsbluff today! We officially just crossed the border into Wyoming and are headed to fort Laramie! More updates to come!

Beatles

Well, tonight we are camping by Chimney Rock, a travel marker for those traveling the Oregon Trail. It looks like a giant pointer finger jutting out of the rock. We have had a VERY long day of travel and when we rolled into our campsite, late of course and after getting lost, we attempted to set up our tent by the headlights. I noticed it sounded like rain and Claire thought the same. Instead we discovered it was hundreds of giant beatles flying at the lights and smacking us as they went! That pretty much sums up the day. It was a fascinating day filled with over 15 historic landmarks but the end was not so pretty and, like the real Oregon trail, it was a little rough! But I will tell you all about that tomorrow when my cell phone has a charger! For now, I'll start at the end.

Due to the constant wind and lightening we thought we should try to sleep in the car instead of the tent ... big mistake. Did I mention the car is literally filled to the brim with crap? So we decided we should try to stick it out in the tent. Well, I went to move my smuggled case of beer back into the car when I dropped it a few inches (it's very hard to lift things  without a thumb! )well one popped open and I took it as a sign. When God opens you a beer, you don't say no! So we climbed back into the tent and after a long and tiring day it was nice to laugh at our silly situation and drink a not-so-cold one. So tonight we made the best out of where we are and everyday we appreciate more and more what the settlers went through to achieve their dreamsof living out west. Wow!

We will post lost of pictures and the full story tomorrow! All I can say is I have never looked forward to the morning so much! That means it's tomorrow and tomorrow night we get a nice bed! Oh well, at least for now we are dysentery and cholera free! 

Liberty, Missouri

Well, we made it as far as liberty today. We are about 30 minutes north of Independence, where the trail officially begins. Today was mostly about just getting through Iowa and getting close to the trailhead. Our goal is to hit a winery or brewery in every state so we did discover a beautiful winery just north of Ames called Prairie Moon. We sampled about 6 different wines FOR FREE and I was very pleased! Especially because one had a strong pineapple flavor and one was deliciously appley, I have not really been able to pick out flavors like that before so I was happy! We ended up buying a bottle for 11 bucks and creeping on a wedding that was happening. Terrific! Then it was off again!

Once we were south of Des Moines, Claire decided to try and find a geocache. (Google it if you don't know what that is! Its super fun!) However, this particular cache was located in a town that is probably the creepiest place I have ever been (see picture of Claire below). We pulled over, got out and realized the cache was located just next to the equally creepy local town bar where people were lounging outside on rusty picnic tables... we.quickly got back in the car. But, Claire was determined. So she found another one just down the road. We pull over and begin searching through the grass. I could not see the cache but I did look down to see a giant, blood sucking tick on my foot! I screamed and told Claire I was done! Was considered setting ourselves and the car on fire to burn the ticks out but, like the settlers before us, we forged on.

Southern Iowa is actually quite beautiful to my surprise. Lovely rolling hills, lush forests and beautiful green grass made it hard to believe we were in the same corn filled state that I have come to know! We made it through Iowa by rocking out to some cds I discovered from my high school days in the jetta (picture below) thank you to Jackie ans Hannah for the wonderful tunes! Once into Missouri, we decided to have a quick bite at a subway so we could continue on. Well, as we were in line, trying to decide between American and provolone cheese, Claire looked at me and froze. "Shhh, shhh, shhh. Its ok." She said while reaching toward my forehead, and promptly removed a tick from my forehead and flung it on the ground. It took every ounce of restraint I had not to strip right there and run. We finished ordering and tried to check for more, which did not go well. For the rest of the 2 hour drive, every hair movement, tickle, gentle breeze and itch would cause us both to panic and check. It was a long two hours. I would look over to see Claire inspecting her arm or head about every two seconds and I did the same.

We finally arrived at our beautiful bed and breakfast here in Liberty and I was very relieved to have a place to thoroughly check myself and my clothing. Even though I didn't find more, every feeling I have on my skin make me shiver. I may have to buy a brillo pad tomorrow and scape off a few layers of skin.

All in all, a pretty fun day! Tomorrow we make it to independence and Claire mentioned we may be taking a covered wagon ride through town! Hazzah! Stay tuned!

Ps- fun fact! Missouri has men on the side of the road made of road cones and barrels to warn you that road work is coming up! Coolest thing ever! I will try to get a picture of one before we leave!

What to pack for the Oregon Trail:

Well, after playing the game for years, I thought I automatically knew what to pack for our trip. 50 pounds salt, guns, pork fat and water barrels, right? Well, turns out only two of those things are actually coming on our trip! Guess which ones? :)

To begin my packing yesterday, I did the most important thing first: hit up the liquor store! I discovered that the Minnetonka Brewry's Big Island Shandy was half off! Naturally I bought a case. Next stop, the grocery store. The challenge for this trip is to not gain 300 pounds because of eating crappy food for two weeks straight! We tried to get a variety of foods like fruit, veggies and some nuts. We also plan to wear pedometers and get 10,000 steps in per day! We'll see how that goes...

Because I still have a lot of stuff at home in Minnesota, I'm trying to use this opportunity to bring sentimental or breakable things back to Montana became I definitely do not trust TMO to move those things! As you can see, the Honda pilot is officially full! Now I'm just waiting for Claire to get off work so we can head out. Our goal today is to get close to Independence, Missouri where the Oregon trail begins! Lets get this wagon train going!

Stitches!

Well, today was an exciting day! My aunt Mary came over to my parents house to help me go through some stuff and take things to the thrift store, which made me very happy! It was a drizzly day but not terribly rainy so we began loading the van. I was trying to load a box into the van when my foot slipped on the bumper. I threw my hand out to catch myself and attempted to continue loading when I noticed my hand was covered in blood! Woah! So I went inside to wash it off and saw that I had what looked like a little mouth on my thumb! In other words, it was a pretty deep puncture wound. I put pressure on it and closed the little mouth but didn't think it needed medical attention. Luckily, my aunt the EMT was there and said we should probably go to the doctor. Thanks Mary! So off to urgent care we went! Three stitches later, all's well!

Next came the dreaded dance of paperwork. Technically I am on the air force medical insurance plan but if I do not go to a medical facility on base, I'm supposed to call them before I leave the hospital. Well, I was never told who to call or how to contact them so I looked online... no help! I found a general number that I called a number, who connected me to a different number, who sent me to a different person, which was actually a voicemail! Zero help and, as usual, dealing with the military is much more difficult than it should be! Thank God my dad still kept my medica insurance so I just used that instead. Ugh! When I get back to Montana, I need to figure this out! But for now, I still have my thumb!

This just adds a fun new twist to the Oregon trail adventure coming up! We leave on Friday!

Married to the Military

Recently I have been reading a wonderful book given to me by a friend out here. It's called Confessions of a Military Wife by Mollie Gross. It's a hilarious book written from the perspective of a Marine wife as she goes through her first experiences with the military. I love this book because it is a real life depiction of her life with nothing held back. Personally, it should be given to every new military wife and girlfriend so they know what they are getting into. After reading this book and talking to a few friends and family members, I decided to write a post about my experiences here and how they might be similar to or different from those that Mollie talks about in her book. 

Dependent vs. Independent- When you are married to someone in the military you are labeled their "dependent". For me, it is a constant reminder that I am contributing nothing to society and completely financially dependent on someone else in my life, something that is very difficult for me to wrap my head around. Long story short, I don't call myself a dependent! However, as I have discovered and as Mollie points out in her book, as a military spouse you have to be anything but dependent. I am very lucky in the fact that my husband has not yet deployed and (fingers crossed) I don't think he will deploy anytime soon. But he is gone about every two days for 30-36 hours and when he is home he is tired and doesn't really want to do a lot. When it comes to household things, paying bills, running errands and other general adult stuff, most of that has fallen to me. This doesn't bother me because I know that my husband works very hard at his job and I take pride in taking care of these things. But, you can see why the term dependent might bother me. If anything, some days I think the term should apply to him! 

2nd best- When you get married, you automatically assume that you will be number one in your husband's life. You promise to be there for each other in sickness and in health and good times and bad. When you are married to a military man, the military comes first. They dictate where you live, what time you get to spend together and when you get to take vacations. When I was dying of flu/death a few weeks ago lying on the bathroom floor, I was on my own. I knew that my husband was gone and he could not come home. When your husband is in the military, you cannot just call him to come home from work because you are sick or lonely or the car broke down. This isn't because he doesn't love you or doesn't want to be there for you, he simply can't. Before you get involved with someone in the military, you have to understand this and you can't blame your husband for not being there. He probably feels enough guilt as it is and he doesn't need his wife blaming him for things he cannot change. Besides, when you see his cute butt in that uniform, it makes everything all worth it! Who doesn't love a man in uniform! Mollie says it best in her book: 

"To make a military marriage work you must accept that your are number two in your husband's life- behind the military. The key to keeping the marriage together and the home happy is keeping him number one in your life.  This is a really tough pill to swallow. This means living for someone else and recognizing his life is not about you... If you both love each other and keep in mind that you are serving a greater calling, you will find acceptance and peace."

Making Friends- Making friends has been interesting here on base. When I heard we were moving to a military base I was really excited because I have always heard that military women are tight knit and very friendly. I was expecting block parties welcoming the new people, being invited to socials and people coming over to say hello and introduce themselves! I was sorely mistaken. Many of the men that came up here from Anthony's class are either single or in long distance relationships so I couldn't find automatic friends in them. And many of the women here are actually in the Air Force so even though they are wonderful friends, they do not have the ample free time that I enjoy. I realized that I am going to have to work a little harder make friends here so I am hoping to start either volunteering at the community center or something with church. Now that the weather is warmer, I have a lot more options.

Finances- Well, 7 applications later and I still do not have a job. I'm not entirely sure what is wrong with me or why, as a college graduate I am not qualified to sell clothes, stock shelves or sell food at a bowling alley but I guess I am spending the summer by the pool! Because I don't have a job we are still down to one car and until I get a job and start making money, we are going to be a one car family for a while. This severely limits the jobs that I can apply for and makes off base jobs pretty much out of the question. Because of where the base is located in town, most of the businesses are a little ways away and if the weather does not cooperate, it would make getting to work difficult. Also, Anthony doesn't have a normal work schedule so I do not have consistent times that I can pick him up from work and the last thing I want to do is be at work when he gets home. I would feel horrible if he had to wait or walk home after being awake from almost 24 hours away from home. But after looking over the finances we concluded that I either need to get a job or our lives are going to be very boring for  a while. 

Well to wrap up this post I'll tell a little story about life on base. So, Anthony has an alarm on his phone that we wake up to every morning and I absolutely hate it. It sounds like the alarm that plays on movies when aliens attack the ship and the lights go out or the alarm that blares through a town right before it is leveled by a nuclear bomb. Bottom line: it is the most annoying thing in the world and I hate it. Last night Anthony told me he had to set his ringer on high because he might get a call and he needs to answer it. I assumed it had something to do with the Air Force but I just said ok and continued watching food network. So, 5:15 rolls around this morning and I am sound asleep. Suddenly I hear the loudest, most terrifying alarm that I can imagine. Now, I am on an Air Force base so the first thing that crosses my mind is we are being attacked and I need to evacuate the house immediately (I don't know why! It was early and I was confused!) So, I shoot out of bed, ready to run and the only thing going through my mind is what do I need to grab before soldiers come bursting through my door! While I am standing there shaking and panting, Anthony simply rolls over, turns off his alarm and goes back to sleep. Yup. It takes about 20 minutes before my shaking stops and I have finally convinced myself that the world is not ending so I go back to sleep for a bit and dream of a Zombie apocalypse. 

Fast forward: I drop Anthony off at work at about 7:00 and when I say goodbye to him he says: "plan for extra time today if you leave base." Now, it was crazy early in the morning and I have learned to not ask a lot of questions so I just say "ok" and say goodbye. Then I start driving away and realize what he said. What!?! What does that mean!?!?! What he heck is going on!?!? So I come home to do some laundry and clean up a little bit when I hear a man's voice outside. I peek through the blinds to see if some creeper is outside my window but there's no one to be found. I open a window to hear a man's voice over the PA system blasting all over base. I don't catch all of what he says but its something about security "exercise Delta" and then it ends. You may not know this but bases have security levels that they operate under. (think terror alerts at air ports- different colors mean different levels of threat) Alpha is everything is good and it almost never goes above that. The only time I have experienced anything else is when they have had "Exercise Bravo" which makes it a pain in the butt getting on and off base. Now here I am, alone, under a security level two letters higher than anything I have experienced! What does this mean!?! What do I do!?! I frantically texted everyone I know on base and of course Anthony is now gone and can't use his phone. I had plans to go run errands today but instead I decided to stay indoors and wait for the tanks to roll down the streets. Well, finally Anthony can text me back and he just says that it is just an exercise and it just means that getting on and off base will be more difficult. Well I didn't feel like dealing with that today so I decided to just stay home today and watch tv. (I heard that they locked down the BX today during the exercise! I plan to ask Anthony just what the heck happens during "Delta"!) 

Life on base may be a lot of things but it is never boring! 

Wall decals

This is my first time doing a wall decal by myself but I think it turned out ok! I put this on a wall in our bedroom because Anthony and I spend so many nights apart. I love wall stickers now! Its such a great way to put a personal touch on the house without ruining anything. I go this on Amazon for $15 and I have another one coming soon. Pictures and more posts to come soon!